Sunday, August 31, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Metasemantics: Elections for Change? The Memes of Minds Destruction ◙ The Globalized Tribe or It Is the Filology of the Impossible Dream
(Don Quixote in Don Quixote de La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes)
Thinking outside the Skinnerian American Box would benefit us greatly. We could see us as being part of something larger and greater than ourselves and not just the citizens of an extraordinary North-American empire. Besides, It seems, altogether not a bad idea or time to accept China in our club too. We can [for these elections] see ourselves simply as being citizens or creatures of this world and not the incredible angry greenish Hulks of all the bushistic democracies of this universe. Heretofore, many paradigms would shift before our own eyes, if we just were able to understand our identity in more universal terms, evenly you can help yourself by trying to understand the concepts of Buddhism, Taoism or simply a Rogerian empathy.
Elections For Change? The Memes of Mind Destruction
The people of the world seem to be eagerly looking after these American elections as ciphering them into the terms that could define their future. Today, we all can "sleep" but not quite too well, because we know that we are resting over a set of accepted memes that are not necessary failure-proof or proven beyond reasonable doubt to be adequate for solving the problems that we are facing, let alone for those we are seeing coming rather quickly towards us. Some of the most stupidest memes have been restated over the last two presidential terms. We have endure almost eight years of the most sacred and dangerous stupidity from extremist American partisan hardliners with the only hope that after this period they will be gone for good from our lives. It is still two months ahead from it, but I feel the relief already, don't you?
They have this need to be at the center of all cultures because they think they know the answers of the conundrum from all the twilight zones or the location of all the black holes in the whole meta-universe within infinite galaxies of the perceivable and unperceivable reality or virtuality might have or ever could have had in the eons that were gone, are coming or will somehow come. Therefore, be an American, for this illusionists, means to be the most Non plus ultra-man or woman in the entire God’s creation, they feel as if they were the only chosen people, the Adams for whom the whole paradise has been created but for only they alone. They are the lions kings and the lionesses queens and the rest of us in the world are just inferior creatures. Is that right? Perhaps, they might want to ask the French about their psychological complexes. OK they are not going to be surprised by this but what about the other "creatures" in the rest of the globalized "jungle", Oh yeah, who cares they are so self-righteous; therefore, they can promise to the rest of the world democracy or Death. They will state what they still telling to the "Indians" or what ever they think the first Americans are that, "We have received directly God's commandment to take your lands and lives if necessary to fulfill our needs, ambitions and impose our way of life and to select the best life for all of you and for the rest of the world as well"
Anyway, Should the "creatures" love them? Should the rest of the world approve this? Should this typify the American Spirit? In few words, it is the eternal imperialist arrogant interpretation of the war and the peace. This is far from being fair or realistic. In this way a new world order, as an “E Pluribus Unum” [“out of many one” or “one from many”] partisan firewall has been installed in our imperialistic democracy, incidentally to facilitate the imposition of some views, mights and dreams from this seemingly extraterrestrial center stage in wish irrationally some Americans are collocated themselves. Is this Leadership "a lá Guantanamo"? Therefore, we have fought an American Revolution to go back and become the extension of a new degenerated version of the British Empire or the Roman, Mongol and Ottoman Empires? Are we proud of our accomplishments? I think that we should think once more in what kind of America do we really want, specially for this elections.
The problem arises internally, specially, when the “low and upper houses” are each divided and so out of touch with what is the interpretation of the American dream by the mere American people, not to mention what the American dream means for the Mexicans or the Russians. It does not matter too much at this point, as it matters more for Americans themselves, their values and principles and the enormous gap between the dominant minority and the others.
Over the last decade this syndrome has been recycled again and again, and once more by a dominant minority or culture [DC], a set of individual that have form societies under the belief that it is necessary the “homo homini lupus” for their ‘frugal’ survival and for the well being of their families; all others do not count in this calculation though. In many ways is a historical malady. A stupid Nietzschean eternal returning of the same, a political life cycle that reminds us of the roman circus. More Christians for the lions and for the 'long live Caesars!' We, as a globalized humanity, just cannot get over it, no matter in what times, whereas Zarathustra’s, Jesus’ or Mandela’s, it is all quietly the same tragedy and drama for power based on just greedy. Even in the most effective democracies, there are always those incompetent misfits that are able to join under weird membership ties, ridiculous pretenses and/or ritual passages with the aim to obtain absolute power or popularity; as Nero, Caligula or Hitler and with the aid of their followers and supporters they end up doing all sort of nasty and abominable things in the name of their roses.
These people believe that they own the right to be right to impose their might and so they have sent people to kill under this impression and without any contemplation. They believe as if they were licensed by and under God to act upon over such terrible societal complexes of superiority; to dictate to others on this earth how to live, in what to believe and for what and whom to work for. People who have chosen their own path have been seen as outcasts and otherwise have been sentenced to crucifixion, electrocution, torture, prison, and death or even ostracism from their imperial paradise, but only in the special "best-case scenarios".
The thirst for power and dominion mixed with their operating style motivated mostly by ignorance, ambition, jealousy and brutality, become the purpose of their whole lives. They pursue their goals with not other reason than to receive the “glory” of being able to cast their ideas of superiority over the minds of others. It is a mental masturbation. These people are fearfulness, because they do not know what fear is. They have been extirpated from it. They believe in what they have been told while being at the cradle of their upbringing, and thus their decisions are made on behalf of skulls and bones, or other nonsensical secret fraternity or association.
Theretofore, all societies end up defining their mechanisms of preserving some people at the top, it is all based in ignorance of how to survive in other way and lack of understanding, it is all a robotic imitation, based on a frivolous ways of oppression, envious or convenient discrimination. As many memes are just dangerous viruses that corrupts the souls and steal the hearts of entire civilizations, I just wonder if this were the reason why many ruins and lost cities are documented in archeology.
What kind the government do we want and what would we finally get in 2009? Hoping, it will be the one that we need the most and for the most people without tearing apart the freedoms therein of the well-intentioned independent individuals.
The Impossible Dream
In the middle of this nonsensical imperialistic medieval apparatus, Don Quixote was written. Cervantes, who have being enslave at one point by Algerians for many years, was able to redeemed his soul and stamped in Spanish an universal commandment by using arguably the first modern novel and one of the best books of all the times. In fact, Thomas Jefferson love Don Quixote and keep a copy of the book near him at his office at all the times. I think that Don Quixote inspired and motivated him.
Cervantes simplified the main golden rule for the people of the centuries to come. It is difficult to comprehend the impact of this novel, but each century we understand and disentangle a new facet of it. All civilizations have embraced Don Quixote, and those individuals who have read it, have laughed and cried but with all their tears [what are your waiting for, find a copy and start reading it! again]. Cervantes’ dictum seems to be: “Do what needs to be done in your life, do what is right, "not matter how hopeless, no matter how far" or how weak, just do the right thing. Now, that sound American and more so humane, doesn’t it? Don Quixote is a main metaphor and is the metasemantic motto behind the Bolivar's statement: “plowing the sea”, meaning again: “To fight for the right without question or pause.” It might be seen as an “impossible dream”; nevertheless, it is a choice, a difficult option, a way of life. It is an alternative, we most likely know that by doing it we would fail most of the times; notwithstanding, "the brave and the free", shall march forward to meet those challenges and the consequences of our shortcomings. We must renew our strength, good faith and will. In the same time, we should recognize our mistakes by moving far from them and for those people to whom albeit we delegated the function to make decisions on our behalf have abused this position, and we need to do it as fast and as much as we possibly can. So what is right, what is normal, who should decide this? It seems that democracy is our best tool.
We cannot continue building our civilization over a house of cards and with the same pretenses of this recently past, that yet it has not finished to pass or happening, it still remains and wants to state with us. We cannot sustain our growth by returning to concepts or constructs that epitomized the obscurest moments of our history. We need to recognize the knowledge that we have already acquired. In that knowledge, rest our freedom and justice.
We have experienced over this last decade a brutal assault to the dearest and most sacred principles and values of our present civilization. It has been a period of degradation and violence, no matter what the reasons were, are or will; we have experienced the effects of real violence and all this has been canned repeatedly and distributed in videos for us to watch as many times as we may please. Is it enough yet?
Thus, USA is about to engage in another challenge for this upcoming elections. It is not a question even related to this almost new “cold war 2.o” with Russia cutting Georgia like cheese in two, it is not the “renewal or revival of oil crisis 2.0” problem. Neither, the effects of the environment by our consumerist behavior, nor the horrible outcomes of the new "Vietnam version 2.0”, but many times augmented, the Iraq war revised. It is not only the stupidity, arrogance, myopia or sarcastic emptiness of the fourth power; or how well they seem to be prevailing or be followed or believed by their audiences neither. Although, the effects of the media have been very influential and biased over the last primaries, for example. We are talking about the preservation of our most sacred human values and principles epitomized by/for/in the American revolution.
This last decade has been far from being moderated. The individual freedoms in USA have been minimized (Patriotically) at its most minimum expression, almost they have been removed from us, in the name of the security of our homeland. I wonder what the philosopher Ayn Rand would have been written about these times, but I remember reading that in a television interview she stated that trying to make impossible things is interesting to people in general.
McCarthyism 2.0: Murrow and Smith
“His primary achievement has been in confusing the public mind, as between the internal and the external threats of Communism. We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men. [...] We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. The actions of the junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad, and given considerable comfort to our enemies. Moreover, whose fault is that? Not really his. He didn't create this situation of fear; he merely exploited it -- and rather successfully.” (For reading all Transcript - See it Now: A Report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy. [CBS-TV March 9, 1954. Retrieved on 29 August 2008]) I will comeback to Murrow latter in this blog as I enjoy his line of work.
The Declaration of Conscience
The second passage is a direct answer to the “Rebushlicans” of this time. It stated in the “The Declaration of Conscience”. The text was written by the Senator from Maine, Margaret Chase Smith, the first women to be nominated to run at the primaries for the Presidency of the United States of America, for the Republican Party or GOP, released upon delivery on June 1, 1950. This declaration is a remainder of the four cornerstones for every American, The right:
- To criticize
- To hold unpopular beliefs
- To protest
- Of independent thought
"The Democratic administration has greatly lost the confidence of the American people by its complacency to the threat of communism and the leak of vital secrets to Russia through key officials of the Democratic administration. There are enough proved cases to make this point without diluting our criticism with unproved charges.
Surely these are sufficient reasons to make it clear to the American people that it is time for a change and that a Republican victory is necessary to the security of this country. Surely it is clear that this nation will continue to suffer as long as it is governed by the present ineffective Democratic Administration.
Yet to displace it with a Republican regime embracing a philosophy that lacks political integrity or intellectual honesty would prove equally disastrous to this nation. The nation sorely needs a Republican victory. But I don't want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny -- Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry and Smear.
I doubt if the Republican Party could -- simply because I don't believe the American people will uphold any political party that puts political exploitation above national interest".
Naming Names and Lee J. Cobb
with Marlon Brando as "Terry Malloy" in the 1954 film "On the Waterfront".
[Photo is Public Domain]
Incidentally, it is all too weird too; Lee J. Cobb starred the first show of the play, the “Man of la Mancha”. He in one point of his career was blacklisted as being possible Communist before the House Un-American Activities Committee or HUAC for short (This time Senator McCarthy did not have anything to do with this House Committee). Cobb stated the following interesting remarks, after he gave testimony naming twenty people as former members of the communist party, during an interview conducted in 1982 by Victor Navasky, professor of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and former editor of the magazine “The Nation”, for his book “Naming Names”:
[The Statement of Lee J. Cobb]
“When the facilities of the government of the United States are drawn on an individual it can be terrifying. The blacklist is just the opening gambit — being deprived of work. Your passport is confiscated. That's minor. But not being able to move without being tailed is something else. After a certain point it grows to implied as well as articulated threats, and people succumb. My wife did, and she was institutionalized. The HUAC did a deal with me. I was pretty much worn down. I had no money. I couldn't borrow. I had the expenses of taking care of the children. Why am I subjecting my loved ones to this? If it's worth dying for, and I am just as idealistic as the next fellow. However, I decided it was not worth dying for, and if this gesture was the way of getting out of the penitentiary I'd do it. I had to be employable again.”
To dream the impossible dream,
Last Review by JMK on April 29, 2010
Friday, August 22, 2008
Harmony in The Metasemantic Web: Be Part of History and Meet the Unique Music of M.I.A: A Combination of Social Realismo Politics & Humor
M.I.A. or Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam | |
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M.I.A. at the Siren Music Festival in July 2007 - Originally posted at http://flickr.com/photos/mrdisco/870773605/. Taken by flickr user j. appleseed | |
Artist Infomation | |
Birth name | Mathangi Arulpragasam |
Artistic name | M.I.A. - AKA MIA |
Born | 17 July 1977 (1977-07-17) (age 31) Hounslow, London, UK |
Origin | Sri Lanka and London, UK |
Genre(s) | Alternative, dancehall, folk, dance, indie |
Occupation(s) | Vocalist, composer, singer-songwriter, producer, visual artist, fashion designer |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, drum machine, Roland MC-505, synthesizer, sampler, laptop (MacBook Pro), percussion |
Years active | 2000–present |
Label(s) | XL Recordings (2004–present) Interscope Records (2005–present) Showbiz Records (2003) |
Official Website | miauk.com |
M.I.A is Plowing the Web | |
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Healing Herbal Power VII: Chamomile the Noble Herb
• CHAMOMILE • Anthemis nobilis Ground Apple – Whip plant | |
Illustration from: Image Processed by Thomas Schoepke from www.plant-pictures.de | |
Scientific classification From Wikipedia | Photo: by Simplicius @ 2005 licensed under GFDL ver. 1.2 |
Kingdom • Plantae | |
Division • Magnoliophyta | |
Class • Magnoliopsida | |
Order • Asterales | |
Family • Asteraceae | |
Tribe • Anthemideae | |
Genus • Anthemis | |
Species • A. Nobilis Cataria | |
Healing Powers Anodyne ♦ Antispasmodic ♦ Aromatic ♦ Carminative Stomachic ♦ Tonic | |
“Phytotechniques” - Parts of the Plant Utilized ♣ Flowers ♣ | |
Traditionally or Folkloric Healing Applications Appetite Stimulant • Bronchial Ailments Colic • Gastrointestinal Disorders’ • Hysteria • Indegestion • Menstrual Cramps • Nervous disorders • Nightmares | |
External Use Earaches [drops] ♠ Eyewash ♠ Hair Brightener [tea] ♠ Open Sores♠ Wounds [poultice] ♠ Ringing Ears ♠ Swollen Glands | |
Roman Chamomile How could I fail to mark her from that hour? Loving the green society of trees. POEMS. Thomas Aird, 1802-1876: A MOTHER'S BLESSING | |
Desde Nuestra Wikipedia...
- Sabías Que...
... la Reina Victoria del Reino Unido también fue emperatriz de la India?1
... el nombre verdadero de Francisco Villa era José Doroteo Arango Arámbula y existen varias versiones de su cambio de nombre?2
... aproximadamente entre un 8% y un 13% de la población humana es zurda?3
... los Mayas inventaron el número 0 alrededor del 36 a. C.?1
... a José Bonaparte se le apodó Pepe botella durante su reinado en España debido a un supuesto alcoholismo que muy probablemente no era cierto?2
... el número 0.9 periódico es igual a uno?3
... el Código de Hammurabi es uno de los primeros conjuntos de leyes conocidos y se puede resumir con la frase «ojo por ojo, diente por diente»?1
... la planta Pericallis × hybrida es un híbrido de las Pericallis cruenta y Pericallis lanata, ambas nativas de las Islas Canarias?2
... el Movimiento rastafari considera a el emperador etíope Haile Selassie como la encarnación de Dios?3
... según la mitología hindú, los Semnopithecus tienen la cara negra debido a que Hanuman, una deidad guerrera con forma de mono, se quemó las manos y la cara al intentar salvar a su esposa Rāma?1
... la fábrica de bicicletas Orbea era originalmente una fábrica de armas?2
... el ácido mandélico, encontrado en nueces amargas, es usado para el tratamiento de ciertas enfermedades cutáneas como el acné y la hiperpigmentación?3
... las Encephalartos también son conocidas como Palmas pan debido a que con el centro de su vástago se puede producir una especie de pan?1
... Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz aprendió nahuatl con sus vecinos y latín de autodidacta?2
... John McCain, candidato a la presidencia de Estados Unidos del Partido Republicano, nació en Panamá?3
... el caudillo de la Revolución Mexicana Francisco Villa atacó el pueblo de Columbus, Nuevo México, siendo la segunda vez que Estados Unidos es atacado en su territorio por otro país?1
... una versión del origen del nombre de Yucatán dice que un español le preguntó a un maya como se llamaba su tierra, y este le contestó Yuk ak katán, que significa no entiendo tu lengua?2
... en la comunidad de Rosston en Texas, hay un día dedicado a la memoria del bandido Sam Bass3
... las palomas neozelandesas son capaces de alimentar a sus crías con una sustancia que liberan parecida a la leche?1
... las Cataratas Victoria fueron bautizadas así por el escocés David Livingstone en honor a la Reina Victoria?2
... después de la Guerra de la Triple Alianza la población paraguaya fue reducida de 1.300.000 habitantes antes de la guerra a 300.000 después de la misma, de los cuales la mayoría eran mujeres y niños?3
... Ignacio Zaragoza, militar mexicano, nació en Texas?1
... la Torre Eiffel iba a ser destruida una vez concluida la Exposición Universal de París pero se mantuvo debido a la voluntad popular?2
... Benito Mussolini fue nombrado así debido a que su padre admiraba a Benito Juárez?3
... la población no adherida a una religión supera a la de creyentes de religiones importantes como Hinduismo o Taoismo?1
... ha habido tres 30 de febrero en toda la historia en ciertos lugares bajo ciertos calendarios?2
... la señal de auxilio Mayday deriva de la palabra francesa M'aider, siendo el significado de Aider «ayudar»?3
... la Coca-Cola tiene un pH de entre 2 y 4, similar al zumo de limón?1
... el Jedi se encuentra entre las religiones mas importantes de Inglaterra y Gales, al ser la sexta religión mas profesada?2
... los proyectos SETI se encargan de la búsqueda de vida extraterrestre inteligente?3
El río Ebro a su paso por Zaragoza con la Basílica del Pilar a la derecha. |